California Becoming a Green Bond Hub

California is becoming a hub of green bond action.

Apple Computer recently issued a $1.5 billion green bond for their facilities and related activities, California PACE related programs continue to issue green bonds for energy efficiency and renewable projects, and the first U.S. bond certified to the upcoming Climate Bond Water Standard will likely be issued in California before summer.

California Treasurer John Chiang, a member of the Climate Bonds Standards Advisory Board, has been looking into ways to further boost the green bond market (see CalGreenFinance post here).

California government agencies have issued nearly $800 million in green bonds since late 2014, as summarized below.

California Green Muni Bond Issuances
Issuer	Date	Amount	General Purposes
State of California	10/7/2014	$300,000,000	Mass Transit, Clean Water, Energy Efficiency
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission	5/20/2015	$32,025,000	Renewable Energy
City of Los Angeles	6/4/2015	$188,755,000	Wastewater, Digester, Water Purification
East Bay Municipal Utility District	6/17/2015	$74,335,000	Clean Drinking Water, Conservation, Flood Protection, Renewable Energy, Biodiversity
City of Los Angeles	6/30/2015	$100,835,000	Wastewater, Water Purification, Digester
San Diego Unified School District	1/5/2016	$100,000,000	Energy Efficient Buildings, Renewable Energy
Total		$795,950,000

Green bond proponents are hoping the market will grow from the $42 billion in issuances worldwide in 2015 to $100 billion in 2016.  California issuers are contributing to the new totals.  About $2 billion in green bonds have been issued in the state since the beginning of 2016.  Another $500 million issue is expected soon from the IBank (see story here) and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will be issuing a green bond in the next month or so. 

Green Bonds are among the many tools California is using to demonstrate climate solution leadership.